


Compare and Contrast

by Oundines



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Solavellan, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-14 09:01:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13586757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oundines/pseuds/Oundines
Summary: Ellana had never received below stellar marks in her life, so when her latest essay comes back with a big red "D" on it, she feels she must confront the strict Professor Solas on the reasoning behind such a grade. They had a cordial relationship, so it couldn't have possibly been given out of spite... Could it?





	Compare and Contrast

**Author's Note:**

> Tiny One-shot, warnings for Professor/Student pining, all characters are adults. Hope you enjoy!

She stared at the red markings on the paper in front of her, a horrified expression on her face.

A failing grade. A D! Ellana had never received a D on anything in her life! She even managed to score above average in her dreadful mathematics courses. Anything less than that was unthinkable- no, unbearable! She stared, shocked, as her Professor continued to pass out graded essays.

Her teacher was a tall man, bald, but not unattractive for his age, and an expert in his field. Solas. He had no clan or familial name, and so when he wasn’t “Professor”, he was Solas. She admired him, attended his lectures and labs outside of class, even visited him during office hours to ask further questions and discuss the latest discoveries in Elvhen ruins. Ellana very much enjoyed their time together, and from what she could tell, he did too- so this couldn’t possibly be a spiteful grade, could it?

She flipped her paper over in a hasty manner, gritting her teeth and mentally preparing herself to question her low marks, something she had never had to do before. She could tell Solas was avoiding her gaze as he addressed the class.

“Please read up on the Final Battle for Halamshiral tonight, and answer the questions on the following pages to study for next week’s quiz. I expect you all to do well. Dismissed.”

Ellana stayed seated as the rest of class disbanded, idle chatter and laughter muffled to her ears. She was so nervous she almost didn’t realize Solas had slipped out with the rest of them. Almost.

“Ah- h-hey! Wait, Professor!” she shoved her books into her bag and hurried after him, almost tripping over her own feet as she did. The Elvhen man did not slow his gait but did turn to look at her as she breathlessly fell into step beside him.

“Miss Lavellan, is something wrong?” his voice was even, courteous, and here she was out of breath, stammering, and desperately trying to keep up on much shorter legs.

“Wrong? What- how did I get a D?!” she brandished the crumpled paper like one would a salacious image, navigating the crowded halls beside him, “Did I not follow the rubric? I know I went above the five page limit- but my sources were sound and you said it would be alright!” she continued to ramble even as they entered his dimly lit office, the hustle and bustle subsiding as the next class began and his door closed behind her.

It was comfortable here, usually a warm and welcoming little library. She would sometimes ask permission to use it for reading when the common areas were too loud, or too crowded. The furniture was all oaks and plush greens, the lamps orange and golden glows, the walls covered in bookshelves and paintings, paintings Ellana had to coax and tease Solas into admitting to her that he had created himself.

But now, now it did not feel particularly welcoming. It felt much too dark, all of a sudden, and quiet- stifling, even, and she struggled to find words.

“I mean, if you could even just tell me what I did wrong so I can rewrite-”

“You know there are no rewrites in my class, Ellana.” He still didn’t meet her gaze, instead dropping his satchel next to his desk and pulling up a chair to examine some student’s work through his spectacles.

“But… but what was wrong with it?!” she demanded, hair falling loose from her braid and face red to match the strands that framed it.

He finally looked up at her over his glasses.

“You deliberately ignored the point of the assignment in order to push your own beliefs on the subject, and so I gave you the grade I believed you deserved.”

“Ignored… the… i-it was a compare and contrast essay! I did precisely that!”

“A compare and contrast of modern society and ancient Elvhen culture, not an opinion piece.”

“You asked for a clear thesis, you asked for a clear voice! I did that!”

“You wrote of feelings, not facts.”

“Is this because I’m Dalish?”

It was a low blow, but she held her head high and met his narrowed eyes as he stared at her in silence, papers still in his hands.

“It is, isn’t it?! I followed the prompt, my writing is impeccable,” she used the same words he once did to praise her on past assignments and he almost glowered, “so why else would you have given me anything less than I deserve?!”

“What you deserve” he growled, “is what you recieved.”

“But-”

“You would do well, da’len, to not sling accusations of prejudiced behavior so lightly.” He was standing now, glasses off, brow furrowed and she felt herself grow hot.

“Then… then tell me why! What was so wrong with me comparing Dalish stories of Fen’Harel and the Gods with ancient depictions of them, then? I included both versions of the tales! I… I had sources and offered insight on what that says of how our cultures have changed, and-”

“And I gave you the grade I felt that paper warranted.” he cut in shortly, coming around his desk now to lean against it with crossed arms, “There is nothing I can do.”

Ellana felt panic now, dizzy with the thought of what this single mark could do to her almost perfect GPA, her financial aid- it was worth a huge percentage of the class’s overall grade and anything below a B on her final report could jeopardize her scholarships, everything she had worked for. Solas must have seen how her eyes widened, how her breathing picked up, because his harsh exterior softened.

“Ellana…”

“Please, please Professor… ha’hren….” she held the paper out to him, nearly begging, “I… I can’t have a D, please, I… I can’t. Please read it again? Please?” She cut him off as he looked about to deny her, “I can’t… I can’t lose my chance at this.”

Solas wasn’t about to be the one to jeopardize the education of a bright individual. He valued learning too much. Ellana knew this, and her professor knew how hard it was to get into University as an elf, let alone a Dalish. Losing her scholarship could cost her the future she desired so dearly. It was with a heavy sigh he took the essay, fingers just barely brushing hers as he did.

“Very well, I… I shall look it over. I cannot promise anything, Ellana.”

Her eyes were already so much brighter and she smiled happily, squeezing him around the middle with a quick hug, much to his chagrin, “Oh thank you, thank you ha’hren! Thank you Solas!” and she ran from the room to her next class for which she was very late, leaving an almost embarrassed looking professor behind.

Solas sank into his chair once more, rubbing the spot between his eyes with exasperation. Headaches were becoming far too common for him these days. An extra annoyance, as the elfroot drink that was meant to alleviate them tasted suspiciously like tea, vile and bitter. It was her fault. Driving him mad without ever even knowing. He couldn’t have favorites. He had tried to be impartial and fair, but in doing so, he had done quite the opposite. And instead of grading Ellana more favorably due to his feelings surrounding her, Solas had almost given the girl a conniption by being harsher than he was on any other student. That was hardly fair to her either, and he knew he HAD to gain control of himself before any other mistakes were made when it came to judging her work. He almost laughed aloud at that thought. Mistakes in grading her were the least of his concerns.

“So inappropriate…” he mumbled, absently, scratching his chin as he remembered that hug. The way her hair brushed him there when she did it, how warm she was, the way she called him ‘Ha’hren’ and ‘Professor’, how she sometimes fell asleep in his armchair while reading, and it took all his self restraint not to… Solas shook his head, trying to snap out of it as he began to re-mark her essay, “absolutely unprofessional.” he punctuated his self-scolding with a nice red A at the top of the paper.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd be lying if I said I wasn't inspired by "Message Sent" by Aicosu, I can't imagine a single person on the Solas/Lavellan train HASN'T read that particular masterpiece yet but if you haven't, I highly recommend it!
> 
> A thank you to my boyfriend for reading through this dumb fluff despite an aversion to Teacher/Student anything... I appreciate you!


End file.
